INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Strahan retired four years ago, but his No. 92 has not been.
His teammates have no doubt it should be, but a Giants official says it likely never will be.
“I think [it should be retired],” defensive lineman Dave Tollefson, who played with Strahan, said. “I don’t see another guy coming around like that for a long time. With the leadership skills and also the skills to match that on the field.”
According to a Giants official, the team’s Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium is now the method the team employs to pay tribute to a player. And because 11 numbers have been retired by the Giants, the official said it’s possible the Giants will no longer retire any more numbers.
Strahan’s No. 92, however, has not been worn by a Giant since his retirement, so it’s not as if the Giants don’t have enough numbers to go around.
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“Of course [it should be retired]. He’s a great guy on top of being a great football player,” said cornerback Aaron Ross, who also played with Strahan. “He has all the attributes it takes to retire someone’s jersey.”
Strahan, one of 35 Giants in the organization’s Ring of Honor, racked up a franchise-record 141 1/2 career sacks, a single-season record 22 1/2 sacks and a Super Bowl championship. And players raved about his leadership.
“He was probably one of the best leaders I think that the Giants organization has had,” Mathias Kiwanuka said. “His leadership ability, his ability to switch it on and off when it needed to be, was something that everybody looked up to and then the example that he set — when you watched him, as old as he was, running to the ball on every single play and practicing as hard as he did, it kind of set the standard around here.”
If you think not enough time has passed for Strahan’s number to be retired, consider Phil Simms finished his Giants career in 1993 and had his number retired in 1995, while Lawrence Taylor retired in 1993 and had his number retired in 1994.